Hidden Treachery
by SilveraAmorensi
Summary: Two sisters, one cursed with the crimson claws of a killer, the other blessed with an ancient language, are about to be hurled into a prophecy intertwined with an omen as old as the clans themselves. Taken into Riverclan after the death of their mother, Teardrop and Phoenix, now Silverpaw and Loyalpaw, must find a place in their new home.


Chapter 1

A nice fresh breeze rustled my fur as I padded through the forest, immersed in sounds of insects and prey. As I passed a puddle, my eyes darted down and I caught a view of myself. A very light silver tabby she-kit with ultramarine eyes, losing her kittenish fluff.

I smiled. I was growing up. At four moons old, my sister and I were almost ready to care for ourselves. My mind however, was on something else. Our mom and my sister had gone off somewhere without me. Eventually, the woods opened up into a hollow. I stopped. Two cats lay in the hollow, both with crimson staining their fur, neither breathing. One was my mom. Sitting next to her was my sister.

"M-mom?" I whispered, too shocked to say anything else. My legs began to weaken. I began to stumble forward, moving towards her. When I came upon her, there was a horrible slash on her throat, from which her life had seeped away.

Pheonix, my sister, glanced up at me, her eyes blank. "Teardrop, it happened so fast. She was teaching me how to hunt. That tom... That tom was our father, or at least that's what she said... He killed her Teardrop, he killed her..." she whispered, her voice overflowing with shock, but there was no grief. Why was there no grief?

My eyes moved to the other cat and found it was a tom. "That tom killed her?" I asked, wondering what I would do if he was.

"Y-yes..." her voice was very quiet now. I had to strain to hear it. I turned to her. She was silent now. It hit me then. The reason... The reason there was no grief in her eyes, something else was covering it.

"Pheonix, what else happened? What aren't you telling me?" I asked her. She didn't answer. "Look at me!" I yelled.

Slowly, her sky blue eyes moved up to meet mine. "He was hurting her Teardrop. I didn't know what to do. I tried to stop him but my claws slipped and then he was bleeding too..." Her eyes began to fill with tears which soon proceeded to wet her pure black pelt. "I tried to stop the bleeding, I did!" she cried.

I froze. My sister, my strong sister was crying. She'd killed our father who killed our mother and she was crying. I moved to comfort her, letting her tears soak into my fur. The shock hadn't worn off, but my sister needed me now.

We slept there that night, lacking the will to leave her, despite the lack of warmth, we had each other.

"Nightcrash, there are kits here!" I heard someone yell. My eyes opened to see a light golden tabby tom with oddly pale green eyes. Beside him appeared a dark bluish gray tom with black paws and silver eyes.

I felt my sister move behind me. If there was one thing she didn't like it was strangers, and honestly, I wasn't such a fan of them either. "Well, I'll be! You're right Paletooth! I wonder what they're doing out here." He leaned down to get another look at us.

Pheonix stiffened behind me. "Would you mind moving back a bit?" I asked him quietly. I didn't want to offend him, but I didn't want my sister to lash out and claw him either, especially with what her unusually long claws had already done. However, when I glanced at her paws, I was startled to her claws to be a bright crimson. They had been black before. Shaking off my curiosity, I returned to the situation at hand.

Nightcrash withdrew quickly and dipped his head in apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you nervous. What are your names?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side curiously.

I smiled politely. "My name is Teardrop and this is my sister Pheonix. It's a pleasure to meet you." I told him.

Paletooth cast Nightcrash a back-to-business-**now** look. He sighed and turned back to me. "I hate to ask this, but what happened here?"

I glanced around, but had to look away. The bloody scene that still glared back at me was haunting. I cast a brief look at my sister. Pheonix was shrinking down smaller and smaller. _I can't let them find out what she did. _I realized. My eyes switched back to Nightcrash and then to Paletooth. "The pretty tortoiseshell is our mom. The other one, the darkly colored one, is our dad." I told them, watching carefully for signs of disbelief, but I saw none. I held back a dry smile. Of course they wouldn't suspect a kit for murder. I was just being paranoid.

"These other cats. I think they were rogues. They hurt mom and dad, and now..." I let myself trail off, swept up in grief for all we had lost. Listening to my sister's heartbeat, I realized how little we had left... only each other. I was sad enough so I didn't need to act.

Nightcrash leaned down and gave me a rough lick on the forehead, jolting me out of my thoughts. "It's okay. I think I understand what happened now. It was a rogue group wasn't it?" He suggested. I nodded, unable to say anymore. I wasn't as strong as my sister. She could conceal her emotions amazingly well.

It took all my self control not to bury my face in my sister's fur and cry. My eyes were on the ground in front of me, but I could hear Paletooth step forward. "So what should we do with them?" he asked.

For a moment, there was silence. "We'll take them back to the clan. They're too young to fend for themselves." Nightcrash decided.

I heard Pheonix step up next to me. She knew the danger had passed, and so had the fear. She was strong again now. The tears faded from my eyes. Whenever one of us was weak, we could lean on the other. Now it was my turn to depend on her I leaned into her a bit, taking in the familiar scent. It helped a bit, but the tears had already started and I couldn't stop them.

I don't remember what else was said, but the next thing I knew, we were being carried by the scruff of the neck. I do remember Nightcrash carried me though, but poor Pheonix got Paletooth.

(Two moons later)

"Hey, Silverkit?" I opened my eyes. It was Loyalkit, my sister, and the only blood family I had left. I couldn't see her face, but with her unusual red claws sliding in and out, tearing up her nest, I could tell she was worried about something.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, wondering what was bothering her. Nothing had happened recently, at least nothing of concern.

"Well, do you think we ought to tell someone?" she asked me. "You know, about what happened to our... father?" The word father was spat out like a piece of crowfood.

I closed my eyes again. She'd asked me this before on the night we arrived her two moons ago. It was the only thing she ever seemed to ask me. "You may not want to throw that around so casually. Other cats could be listening." I commented.

Loyalkit sighed. "I know, I know, but do you?" she persisted.

My eyes opened and I swung my head around to look at her. That crystal blue gaze was cast to the ground in front of her. "Loyalkit, we don't know how they'd react. Riverclan isn't exactly known for its forgiving nature. They might throw us out." I explained for the second time, an exact echo of when she first asked that question.

There was a moment of silence, then another, and another before she answered. "Okay, goodnight." she whispered, placing her chin on her paws and closing her eyes.

I took a deep breath and turned away, curling up and once again shutting my eyes. She didn't know, but it was hard for me too. The secret we shared, that Loyalkit had accidentally killed our father while trying to save mom, was a heavy burden. It was like a dark cloud that hung over us, casting an ominous aura and sweeping away any heir of happiness. "Goodnight sis. Sleep tight." I murmured quietly, so as not to wake anyone. It wasn't long before sleep swept me up in its warm embrace and blanketed me in dreams.

I awoke to the sound of my sister's breathing and the voice of Gentlebreeze, the kind cat who had taken us in after her own kits had died. "Come on kits, a bright new day awaits. Don't forget what today is." she reminded us. My eyes opened. The pretty cinnamon she-cat gave each of us a gentle lick over the ear. I raised my gaze to meet her glittering aqua one and smiled.

"Today we become apprentices!" I realized and leaped to my paws. I whirled around and tackled my sleeping sister, who, upon the rude awakening, fought back and after a bit of struggling, she managed to get her teeth into my back leg.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I complained, though I was smiling. We always played a bit rougher than most kits. Especially with my sister's claws, which strangely, have been red ever since our parents were killed. "I'll get you back for that later." I promised, after we broke apart.

Quickly, Gentlebreeze groomed our fur until it shone. "Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words!" Violetstar's call resounded through the camp, reaching the ears of every cat.

I looked at Loyalkit and our eyes met. This was it, our journey to full membership of the clan. The first ceremony held in our honor was a big step forward. After a brief nod, we rose to our paws and padded out of the nursery, our tails high. I felt my heart thundering in my chest.

The sunlight enveloped us and around us were cats of all ages. Some were elders with a wise gleam ever present in their eyes. Others were apprentices joking and gossiping about what might be said. There were also warriors, sitting together with old friends, looking up at the leader who was perched on a large and jagged crag of rock that reached for the sky, the Tall Stone. Violetstar swept her intense violet gaze over the gathered cats, waiting for silence, which came quickly. It was amazing how little her scarred right eye impeded her.

Once she had everyone quiet, she continued. Her eyes fell upon Loyalkit. "Loyalkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Loyalpaw. Your mentor will be Scarpath. I hope Scarpath will pass down all she knows to you."

Violetstar paused for a few moments to let her words sink in before continuing. "Scarpath?" Quietly, the heavily scarred white she-cat padded forward to stand directly in front of the Tall Stone. The leader smiled. "Scarpath, you have excellent training from Fogwhisper, and you have shown yourself to be resilient and determined. You will be the mentor of Loyalpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Loyalpaw." The clan seemed a little surprised at Violetstar's choice of mentors. Scarpath was mentored by Fogwhisper, who had plotted to kill the previous leader once he was made deputy. It was only luck that had saved the clan from his leadership. Still, Scarpath's golden eyes glittered with joy.

The newly named Loyalpaw padded forward, her legs shaking slightly with all the eyes on her to stand by her mentor, who turned around. Scarpath leaned down, and touched noses as was customary for a new apprentice. "Loyalpaw! Loyalpaw! Loyalpaw!" everyone called.

Loyalpaw hurried away with her mentor, eager to escape the cheering. It was my turn now. Violetstar's powerful eyes fell on me. "Silverkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Silverpaw. Your mentor will be Darkpool. I hope Darkpool will pass down all he knows to you." My eyes widened a bit. Paletooth? My eyes darted to the black and white tom, and found we was giving me a very stern look. I shivered.

"Darkpool, you have received excellent training from Paletooth, and you have shown yourself to be disciplined and self restrained. You will be mentor of Silverpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Silverpaw." Violetstar finished. Nervously, slowly, I padded forward to Darkpool.

"Um, hi." I mumbled. I lifted my head and touched noses with him. His movements seemed a little jerky which surprised me. Sure he was a newer warrior, unlike Scarpath, but why was he nervous? He'd been through all of this before, so what did he have left to worry about?


End file.
